Gonzalo de Quesada (December 15, 1868 - January 9, 1915) was a key architect of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

's Independence Movement with

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...

during the late 19th century. He received the

National Order of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

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Biography

He was born in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

on December 15, 1868. His family moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he was educated. While in the United States, he attended

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

before graduating from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. During his undergraduate career he was initiated into

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. He soon pursued a law degree, graduating from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 1891. While in New York, de Quesada came in contact with Martí after attending several rallies for Cuban exiles. In 1900 he became Special Commissioner of Cuba to the United States. During 1901 he was a member of the Cuban Constitutional Convention. Entering the diplomatic service, he became minister to the United States and, from 1912, to Germany. In 1903, he was able to convince the American government that the Isle of Pines had been part of the Cuban territory since 1511, and on March 2, 1904, he signed the Hay-Quesada Treaty. It was not ratified by the US at that time. He died on January 9, 1915, in Berlin.

Publications

He authored many books, among them "A History of Free Cuba" (1898) and "Cuba" (1905). He also edited Marti's "Obras literarias" (1900–11).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quesada Y Arostegui, Gonzalo De 1868 births 1915 deaths Quesada y Arostegui, Gonzalo Columbia University alumni Cuban people of Basque descent Cuban non-fiction writers Cuban male writers Cuban diplomats Government ministers of Cuba New York University School of Law alumni Cuban independence activists Male non-fiction writers Expatriates from the Spanish Empire Expatriates in the United States